How Nonprofits Are Using Editorial Calendars

During our webinar yesterday where we previewed the 2013 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report (coming January 14, 2013!), I asked two poll questions about how nonprofits are currently using editorial calendars for their communications.

First we asked about the format of the editorial calendar. As you can see, there is a pretty even split between shared spreadsheets and calendars, with a third saying they have their own private versions (they could pick multiple answers so those with shared calendars could also have private ones). 20% said the plan was all in their heads, and 15% said they don’t plan out an editorial calendar.

Next we asked how far in advance nonprofits are planning their editorial calendars, and again we saw quite a bit of variation. 38% are planning out the details for a month or less at a time, while 43% are looking at two months or longer at a time. The rest aren’t putting details into their editorial calendars.

These polls were answered by 230 people on December 12, 2012.

This doesn’t really surprise me because when I talk to nonprofits about their editorial calendars, the answers are typically all over the place. But I’m wondering if there is any correlation between the formats and how far in advance people plan with their success in producing good communications or how much stress they have in their jobs or how much inter-office cooperation they receive from others. What do you think?